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Madeline Oden, left, and Louise Labbe-Fahy help clean up the community garden. Linda Lemmon photos.

 

Theresa Desilets

 

 

 

Knowledge

will grow

in garden

By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

PUTNAM --- Saying it would be nice to see more young people in the town's community garden, Theresa Desilets is planning to teach gardening when the season cranks up next spring.

Desilets, who calls herself, "just a gardener," has been gardening at the town's community garden off Smith Street, for two years. This year she expanded from a raised bed to a ground patch and grew corn, peppers, lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage and more.

Although she's gardened in the past at her home, she believes the community garden setting promoted her expanded interest in gardening. "It really took off when I went to ground gardening," she said.

As far as wanting to teach young people more about the rewards of gardening, she said she guesses she just has "a natural desire to teach."

When the young members of the Putnam Lions' Leos Club came to the garden, Desilets said she thought it was nice to have young people back in the garden. 

Those who are interested in learning in the spring will have to meet a financial obligation, though. It's $15 for a raised bed (a box) and $20 for a ground patch. 

The entire garden contains 10 ground garden patches and 15 raised beds.

Anyone interested in reaching Desilets should contact her through the town's Community and Economic Director Delpha Very at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Very said the community garden was dedicated to Dr. Robert R. Johnston in honor of his service to Putnam as a community caregiver and advocate for all citizens.

The garden was funded with a grant from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection under the Open Space and Community Garden Program. Along with state funding as well as private donations and in-kind services, the 4,150 square foot garden was officially established in 2012.

The garden also fits perfectly within the NECT HealthQuest goal as a regional collaborative partnership to establish programs and initiatives to build strong, healthy communities.

Very added the benefits of the community gardens are a sense of community ownership and stewardship of municipally owned property.

"Our garden has provided a unique opportunity to meet neighbors in a safe and friendly environment while unknowingly, getting a great no-cost workout at the same time. Our gardeners have forged relationships that have gone beyond growing fresh fruits and vegetables for their families ... they have nurtured each other; helped take care of neighbor's gardens when they could not, and educated fellow 'farmers' about pests and disease control, all while becoming a community family," she added.

 

Later, Gator

Avery Luneau, 21 months, of Danielson, had a great time at the Putnam Trick or Treat festivities Oct. 31, in his gator costume. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.

 

Football Wrap-up

Plainfield &

Hyde still

posting big

victories

By Ron P. Coderre

As the 2014 high school and prep school football season moves rapidly toward Thanksgiving Day and the postseason, the Plainfield Panthers and Hyde-Woodstock Wolfpack continue as the area’s banner carriers.  

The Panthers displayed a strong offense in an Eastern Connecticut Conference interdivisional contest easily handling Large Division Fitch in a road contest.  Hyde-Woodstock also playing on the road dispensed of host Portsmouth Abbey.

The Quinebaug Valley Pride, following a 0-3 start, has managed to fight its way to .500 with a big win in Meriden against Wilcox Tech.  Pomfret School, Woodstock Academy and Killingly all lost again this week despite putting up courageous efforts.

Killingly Loses 

in a Seesaw Humdinger

Killingly High School football took another loss on the chin despite playing in one of the most interesting and exciting games of the season.  They were edged by Montville 45-38 in a high scoring game that witnessed seven lead changes.  The loss drops Killingly to 1-7 in what can best be described as a tough luck season.

The contest started in raucous fashion as the two teams put a combined 36 points on the scoreboard in the first period with Montville on top 20-16.  The offenses quieted down in the second stanza with the Indians going to halftime in front 26-22.  

Killingly’s Austin Caffrey, who had three touchdowns and ran for 116 yards on 17 carries for the game, had touchdown runs of one and three yards in the first half.  The other Killingly score came on a 26-yard Spencer Lockwood run.  Lockwood, who was a work horse for Killingly, had a banner evening, rushing for 203 yards on 31carries and accounted for 20 of his team’s 38 points.  He had two touchdowns and four two-point conversion runs.

Quarterback Kyle Derosier completed three of nine passes in the game for 62 yards.  All three completions were to Vasileios Politis.

In the final analysis, Killingly was unable to hang on to the lead when it had it and a high risk fourth down pass play in the waning minutes of the game by Montville spelled gloom and doom for coach Chad Neal’s valiant troopers.

Plainfield ran out to a 35-0 halftime lead on Fitch High School and coasted to its sixth win against one defeat in a 48-15 victory over the Falcons at Dorr Field in Groton.  The Panthers offense was paced by quarterback Steve Jankowski, who was 6-for-9 in the air for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while also contributing 92 yards on the ground on five carries.  

Jordan Federer (9-104 rushing) produced three touchdowns.  The first came on a 73-yard pass-run play from Jankowski and the last two on scampers of 8 and 10 yards.  Kade Amster contributed TD runs of 4 and 5 yards and a pair of two-point conversions.  Cody Alday had the other tally, a 24-yard pass from Jankowski.  Amster was Plainfield’s leading ground gainer with 144 yards on 19 totes of the pigskin.

The Quinebaug Valley Pride demonstrated a solid defense and a steady offense as it shutout Wilcox Tech 24-0, lifting its record to 4-4.

Raif Santerre with touchdown runs of 3 and 4 yards paced The Pride victory.  He added to his rushing total with 135 yards on 19 carries as he approaches the 1000-yard plateau for the second season in a row.  Sandwiched between Santerre’s TD plunges was a 2-yard sneak by signal caller “Chuckin” Charlie Innes.  

The final Pride score came from the defense as Cody LaScola zeroed in on a Wilcox Tech aerial for an interception that he ran back for a 25-yard touchdown.

Woodstock Academy, looking to pick up its second football victory in three years, fell just short against Vinal Tech/East Hampton/Goodwin Tech in a game played under frigid conditions on the Centaurs home field.  The game, which ended with Woodstock driving down the field, was a 16-13 heartbreaker.

After falling behind to the Hawks 14-0 after one period of play it appeared that Woodstock was in for another long afternoon.  However, the Acads rallied in the second half, outscoring the visitors 6-2 but it just wasn’t enough to pull off the victory.

Woodstock’s Holden Cote closed the first half with a 3-yard touchdown burst, as the teams went to the locker room with VT/EH/GT up 14-7.  Quarterback Trent Appleton scored the lone touchdown of the second half on a 5-yard run, which pulled the Centaurs within one point until a fourth quarter safety produced the final margin of victory.

Kameron Janice with 73 yards on 21 carries was Woodstock’s top offensive threat.  The loss drops coach Clay Killingsworth’s charges to 1-6 on the season. 

Jimmy Murphy Up to His Old Tricks

The Jimmy Murphy show took to the road this week as the Hyde-Woodstock Wolfpack traveled to Portsmouth, R.I., for a contest with Portsmouth Abbey.  Thanks to a four-touchdown performance by the indomitable “Murph” the Wolfpack came away with a 26-16 victory.  The win lifted Hyde-Woodstock’s record to 6-1 overall and in the Evergreen League.

Murphy, who had 162 yards on 17 carries scored on runs of 51, 49, 12 and 1 yard.  The remaining two points came on a two-point conversion pass play from Harrison Smith to Justin Allard. 

Pomfret School fell to 2-5 on the season and 2-5 in the Colonial Conference when it lost at home to Williston 18-6.  The Golden Griffins lone score came in the second period on a 75-yard Maguire Crouse to Obim Okeke pass play.  The play knotted the score at 6-6 but Pomfret was unable to cross the goal line in the second half as it went down at the hands of the 6-1 Wildcats.

 

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